It don't Mean a Thing
by LilaStar
Summary: Remus had two secret obsessions and they both started with 's'- Swing and Sirius. Slash. WIP, PWP. Rating increased for language
1. Chapter 1

AN- Inspired by Swing-fan!Lupin in the movie. Assisted by my Swing-fan sister. Props to her for the title. (She's Birdy- writes Newsies stuff- go read it if you like that sort of thing...'Shortstack and Fishface'. She's Fishface.)

Disclaimer- Characters aren't mine and neither is the music!

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Remus Lupin had two secret obsessions and they both started with the letters 's'. The first one wasn't so bad; he'd been around it all his life. His dad was muggle born so it was natural that he'd be exposed to muggle music at some point. But not many people in the 70's were obsessed with Swing music. Consequently he hid this fact. He would close the curtains around his bed every night and put up a silencing spell before playing a record on his dad's old record player. It had become a tradition and he found it very difficult to sleep without a good dose of Benny Goodman beforehand.  
  
The other obsession was rather more difficult to deal with seeing as it was a person- and male. Over the past two years Remus had developed a rather unhealthy obsession with one Sirius Black, his best friend. So naturally, this obsession was even more closely guarded than his first one. Despite the fact that they lived in a day and age in which sayings like 'Make love, not war' had become popular in many places, homosexuals still weren't the exactly given equal consideration- even among wizards who typically considered themselves to be above such petty discriminations.  
  
And so Remus still kept two secrets from his best friends. Of course, he knew from experience that they would find out sooner or later- they were frightfully observant little buggers, but until then he could keep his secrets and hold onto his sanity with the help of Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller.  
  
It just so happened that the aforementioned 'best friends' were already becoming rather curios as to why Remus closed his curtains every night and they never heard anything from him after he did. It was very abnormal. But then again, he'd always done it. At first they assumed it was because of his scars and he didn't want to give away the fact that he was a werewolf by eliciting unnecessary questions, but he'd become more open about his body in the past three years since they'd figured it out- and even more so since they'd begun to accompany him to the Shrieking Shack each month earlier this year. So it hardly made sense for him to still hide behind the curtains at night. Unless of course he was hiding something else; which, naturally, he was.  
  
A few more weeks went by before the lack of knowledge had driven them almost insane- Sirius in particular. Of the boys, he was the closest to Remus. He'd been the one to figure out his secret, the first to accept him, and the one to come up with the plan to become Animangi. He couldn't claim to have accomplished it first- James had beat to that him fair and square. He just wasn't as good at potions as James was. And James being James had not let Sirius live it down yet.  
  
So now Sirius was going nearly mad not knowing what it was that Remus was still hiding from them- from him in particular. So Sirius being the upfront and sometimes tactless person that he was cornered Remus one night after everyone had gone up to bed (with some encouragement by James and Peter) to ask about the mystery.  
  
"Moony." He said as he sat down on the couch beside Remus, who was currently engrossed in book on the 'History of Muggle Entertainment- the 1920's to the 1940's'  
  
"Yes?" Remus asked, looking up from the book, carefully placing the bookmark between the pages and setting the book aside while schooling the expression on his face not to show any of the excitement he gained from his current proximity to Sirius.  
  
"Why do you close your curtains every night?" The question was fast, abrupt, and seemingly out of nowhere. Remus's eyes widened in surprise. He had certainly hadn't been expecting _that_!  
  
"I... err... just like my privacy?" He floundered, looking for an acceptable answer to the question.  
  
"Liar." Sirius stated. "I know you better than to fall for that. You stopped worrying about your privacy ages ago. You're hiding something and I know it."  
  
Remus blushed. This was rather embarrassing. "You'd laugh if you knew."  
  
"Try me."  
  
"I listen to music." Remus stated, trying to find an easy way to say this.  
  
"And this would make me laugh because...?" Sirius asked, confused.  
  
"Muggle music. Very old muggle music. When it boils down to it, I'm a bit of a cat."  
  
"A what? Moony, we all know you're a werewolf. No way you could be a cat." Sirius was now seriously confused.  
  
Remus laughed. Sirius pouted. "Not that sort of cat. It's an old slang word. Someone who likes Swing music."  
  
"Ohhhhh...So you listen to Swing every night?" Sirius asked, realization dawning on him.  
  
"There's a smart puppy!" Remus laughed.  
  
"Well, that's not so bad. Why would you want to hide that?"  
  
"Because Swing has been out of style for about 30 years. My dad used to listen to it, he infected me with an abnormal obsession for it. Consequently, I have to listen to it every night in order to fall asleep. It's my own little tradition." Remus grinned slightly and looked down at his hands that were currently folded on his lap.  
  
"So, what's it sound like? I've never really heard much muggle music- being from my family and all..."  
  
Remus looked up and Sirius, slightly shocked. "You really want to hear it?"  
  
"Yeah, why not? It sounds interesting. And anything you like has to be good."  
  
Remus grinned. "Well then, come with me. Who knows, you might not be as much of an icky after all!"  
  
"A what?"  
  
"Just never mind Sirius- just a hepcat's insult." With that Remus laughed and led him up the stairs and to his bed. He motioned for him to sit down. James and Peter were suspiciously absent, but neither really pondered that for long.  
  
"Alright. Time for 'Swing 101'. This," Remus said as he put on a record, "Is the all time greatest. Benny Goodman, an old classic." Moments later, 'Flat Foot Floogie' began to blare out of the antique muggle contraption.  
  
Sirius stared at it blankly for a moment. "What's it saying? Flat foot boogie with an aardvark?"  
  
Remus looked at him in horror. "What? NO! That's like...euarg! No! It's 'Flat Foot Floogie with a floy floy!" Remus mumbled some more about how something was seriously wrong with Sirius's ears. "Here, listen again." He played it again while Sirius listened carefully.  
  
"Still sounds like aardvark to me." Sirius shrugged helplessly.  
  
"Hopeless." Remus laughed as he gave up. "How about something without so many words for you to misinterpret?" Remus picked up the needle and moved it closer to the edge of the record. "Sing Sing Sing, it has words, but they aren't on this version."  
  
Sirius grinned as he listened. "I really don't see why this embarrasses you Moony- it's pretty cool."  
  
Remus beamed at the compliment to his music. "I'm glad you like it, but tell that to a muggle born and they will surely laugh." With that, Remus flopped back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. "It's nice not hiding this anymore."  
  
"You never had to." Sirius answered softly from where he was seated at the foot of Remus's bed. "You know that I, we, would accept any part of you. Always will."  
  
Remus rolled onto his side in order to see Sirius. He smiled and looked him straight in the eye, getting lost in their stormy depths before sleep nearly overcame him and his own eyes drifted closed. "Thank you." He muttered softly as he left the land of the living for the day to wander in the land of dreams where he danced all night to the sounds of Benny Goodman with Sirius as his partner.  
  
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Next morning Remus had quite a shock as he woke to the sudden sound of Louis Armstrong's 'Tiger Rag'. He blinked twice in confusion before Sirius came into focus next to his bed where he was staring triumphantly at Remus's record player. He turned and smiled at the now awake Remus.  
  
"I figured out how to work it!"  
  
Remus laughed. "I only wish you'd picked a quieter song to experiment with. But then, Louis Armstrong isn't such a bad way to wake up in the morning."  
  
Sirius just shrugged and grinned from ear to ear. Happy for some reason completely unbeknownst to Remus.  
  
In fact, Sirius himself wasn't all too sure as to why he was so happy. It probably had something to do with the fact that Remus had entrusted a bit more of himself to Sirius, which made him very happy. And for some reason, this was more important than James running in this morning with the news that 'Evans said hello to me Sirius! She knows I exist!'. That had actually been a bit annoying because James had jumped on his bed and pulled him from a very nice dream that had something to do with Swing. The style was swiftly growing on him.  
  
"Sirius?" Remus asked, pulling him out of his daydream. "You were a million miles away just then."  
  
Sirius grinned. "Yeah, just thinking about how you have James to blame for me waking you up."  
  
"Ah, I was wondering about that. You're notorious for oversleeping, even more so on a Saturday."  
  
"Well, James ran in here and jumped on me at bloody eight thirty to tell me that Lily said hello to him. The boy's hopeless."  
  
Remus laughed. "Well, maybe they'll figure out that they're meant for eachother sometime before they turn fifty."  
  
"That's a pretty big maybe. Come on, I'm up this early, might as well make the most of it and get some breakfast while it's still fresh!"  
  
"It's always fresh. The house elfs make sure of that." Remus pointed out.  
  
"Oh shut up you, bursting my bubble this early in the morning is just heartless. Coming with me?"  
  
"Course. Dindy puppy. Give me a moment to get dressed."  
  
Sirius nodded and turned to look at Peter's bed. He laughed and shook his head. "I swear, that boy could sleep through anything. Bet he'd even sleep through your music played at full volume!" He stated with a twinkle in his eyes.  
  
"Don't you dare. I can handle it; I believe poor Wormtail might be scarred for life should you get it loud enough to wake him. Now what about that breakfast?"  
  
"Spoil sport." Sirius muttered as they left the room with one last glance at Peter's bed.  
  
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As the weeks went by, Remus continued to share his knowledge and love of swing with Sirius. He was slowly getting the hang of it, but he still thought 'Flat Foot Floogie' was talking about an aardvark. It had become something of an inside joke where Sirius would randomly state 'aardvark' just to see what Remus would do.  
  
Remus certainly didn't mind the extra time he spent with Sirius as a result. After all, it was a combination of his two favorite things. All it needed to be _absolutely_ perfect would be chocolate. However, now that one secret was out, the last was driving him mad.  
  
Sirius had come to relish the evenings, seeing as he would sit down on Remus's bed and listen to music with him behind the closed curtains as Remus slowly fell asleep. Sirius would then sit and watch him until the end of whatever song was playing, and then he would turn off the music and leave with a smile on his face. These evenings had a very calming effect on him. He found himself sleeping better with the exception of the constant dreams in which Swing and Remus seemed to always play a role. At first, the Swing had been the dominate feature of his dreams, being surrounded by the sounds of the Andrews Sisters and Louis Armstrong along with the all-time greatest Benny Goodman. Yet now, Remus had begun to play an even larger part in the dreams. Sure, the music was still there, but now the dreams were more focused on being close to Remus and sometimes dancing to the music. Despite the fact that Sirius had no clue how to dance to this sort of music.  
  
The school year was swiftly ending now; exams and the Quidditch House cup were just around the corner. The Cup would be played between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff had pulled some spectacular moves and beaten Slytherin in their last game, but since Ravenclaw had beaten them previously, it was down to a match between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. The school was working itself into a frenzy, just as it always did. Before anyone knew it, the game had come and gone, with James having caught the snitch just in time to win due to the fact that the Gryffindor Keeper had been injured and Ravenclaw had them behind by 14 goals. It was a very exciting game to the audience, but very nerve-wracking to the players. There would be a Gryffindor celebration to be remembered for this sort of victory, and even McGonagall couldn't stop them. ---------------------------------------------  
  
James had been carried into the school while Sirius and Remus nipped down to Hogsmede for some butter beer and Peter enlisted the help of the house elfs for the food. All in all, it was quite a celebration. Lily had even forgone studying for OWLs in order to take part, much to the elation of one Mr. James Potter.  
  
"Well," Sirius stated as he and Remus returned from their adventure, "This is haping up to be quite a party. I can only think of one thing it's missing." He remarked, looking meaningfully at Remus.  
  
"Oh no. You are _not_ going to do that, absolutely _not_." Remus said quickly, trying to convince Sirius that Swing music would not be a good idea.  
  
"Awww...Moooooony! It'll be fun!" Sirius begged.  
  
'Bloody hell, not the puppy eyes!' Remus thought in dismay- Sirius had a way of talking him into almost anything with that look. Remus had no defenses against it. "Damn you Sirius. Fine. But no one, NO ONE, is to know where it came from- understood?"  
  
Sirius's face split into a grin, he hadn't expected Remus to give in so quickly. He nodded and bolted upstairs to the dormitory to gather the necessary supplies to get this party 'swinging,' in his opinion.  
  
Five minutes later, he returned with the record player and a stack of his favorites out of Remus's collection. He figured the party could do with a sudden entrance, so he loaded up Louis Armstrong, the same album he'd used to waken Remus that first day. Moments later, 'Tiger Rag' was blaring out of the little machine, much to the shock of the rest of the Gryffindors and the amusement of Remus.  
  
"Now THIS is a party!" Sirius said, toasting his butter beer to Remus.  
  
The rest of the room was slowly becoming accustomed to the music and people were beginning to talk again despite it. Sirius looked around after about ten minutes with a small frown on his face.  
  
"Moony, why isn't anyone dancing?"  
  
"Probably because A- no one has thought of it, or B- they don't know how." Remus shrugged and returned to his butter beer.  
  
"Do _you_ know how?" Sirius asked. It seemed to Remus he'd wanted to ask this for a while, seeing as he was shifting from foot to foot.  
  
"A bit, I can Jitterbug, but I've never had anyone to do the Lindy Hop with."  
  
"Errr..." Sirius looked confused again.  
  
"Two different types of dances. The Lindy Hop involves a lot of lifting and spinning. Why? Do you want to learn?"  
  
Sirius nodded enthusiastically and drug Remus to an empty bit of floor space, dropping off their butter beers on a nearby table.  
  
Remus gulped. He was about to dance with Sirius. In front of a whole room of people. But then, he was just teaching him to dance. It didn't mean anything, it wasn't a big deal...but how he wished it DID mean something.  
  
"Alright, I'll be the girl so you get the hang of the guy part. Put your right hand here..." Remus moved Sirius around until he was in position. "Good. Now for the feet..."  
  
"Padfoot, Moony- what the bloody hell are you doing?" James asked, walking up to them.  
  
"Moony's teaching me to dance!" Sirius chirped. Remus noted to himself how hyper he was today. Must've been the butter beer...  
  
"Sounds like fun!" James said, "Can I learn too?"  
  
Remus shrugged. "Sure, but you're going to have to pretend you have a partner, I can't be two places at once."  
  
Just then, Lily walked up. James turned red and ruffled his hair. Lily rolled her eyes and turned to Remus.  
  
"Jitterbug, eh?"  
  
"Yeah, teaching Sirius. If you know it, you could help James. He wanted to learn it too." Remus said with a wink that James couldn't see. Lily glared at him.  
  
"Fine, but if you put one finger out of line Potter..." She said, turning to James.  
  
James looked too happy to care.  
  
Remus grinned. "Great! I think there's a new song starting too...so here we go!"  
  
_It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing...  
_  
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The school year was over in a blink. James still wasn't dating Lily, and Remus still kept his secret from his fellow Marauders- though Lily had forced it out of him after the party in retaliation for making her dance with James. In no time at all they were sitting on the train in the last compartment listening to Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald singing 'Let's Call the Whole Thing Off'. James and Peter had been let in on the secret of the Swing music about a week after the party when they refused to stop pestering Sirius about where it came from. Remus had finally just pulled the record player out from under his bed along with a stack of records. James shad actually been happy to be able to hear the music again as he had developed a liking for it. Peter just shrugged it off. Said his parents listened to it from time to time.  
  
And so time continued until they reached platform 9 ¾. They bid each other farewell and promised to write. James vanished quickly with Peter not far behind. Sirius stayed to give Remus one last hug before dashing off to find his mother before she could flip out at him. And so Remus was left alone again, holding his secret ever closer with the memory of that brief hug and the feeling of being in Sirius arms for that dance.  
  
He smiled and sighed softly to himself.  
  
_"It don't mean a thing...... if it ain't got that swing..."_  
  
And so another year had ended.

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-To Be Continued!- 

Reand and Review- I live for feedback!


	2. Chapter 2

AN- Wow, posted chapter one and started chapter two in the same night! Go me! Disclaimer- Still not mine. Any of them.  
  
Enjoy!

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Sirius tapped his foot as he slid across the floor of the Knight Bus. He was gone from home for good and off to the Potters'. His mom had finally pushed it too far with the constant insults to his friends; it was more than he could take right now with his own confusing emotions for Remus- who usually got the brunt of her attacks due to his being a 'filthy half- blood'. Sirius winced just remembering it. Remus was far too good to have his named dirtied by the likes of HER. Sirius wasn't all too certain when he'd gotten so touchy about his golden-haired friend, but right now that didn't matter. He was never, ever going back to that infernal house.  
  
"POTTER'S RESIDENCE!" The conductor hollered. Sirius grabbed his trunk and headed for the door. He hadn't even unpacked it from Hogwarts yet. So here he was, the first night of the summer, hoping to anything and everything that the Potters would let him at least stay the night. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.  
  
There was a faint 'I'll get it!' and the ominous pounding of feet with a squeak as the person slid followed by a thump as they hit the door. Sirius grinned. James.  
  
Just then, the door opened to reveal a bright red James rubbing his forehead. His glasses were a bit off centered. Sirius just grinned.  
  
"Sirius! What...why..?" James spluttered, unable to say something intelligible.  
  
"My mum's being horrid and I need someplace to stay..." Sirius said quickly, looking at his shoes. The grin was gone now as the reason he was here returned to his active memory.  
  
"Of course! Come in, come in...I'm sure mum and dad won't mind. Here, step inside and I'll ask them. Too warm to be out there anyways. You took the Knight Bus I assume?" Sirius nodded as James rambled, leading him into the main part of the house. "Ah, here we are."  
  
Mr. And Mrs. Potter were seated at the table, evidently finishing up dinner. "Mum, Dad, This is Sirius Black, you remember him right?" They both nodded.  
  
"So nice to see you again Sirius!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed, standing up. "Would you like something to drink or eat? We've only just finished and there are plenty of leftovers, come and sit down..."  
  
"Thank you Mrs. Potter." Sirius said as he did as he was told and sat.  
  
"Sirius needs a place to stay...I've told you about his parents. He's left and come here, please can he stay?" It was a good thing James's parents had already been fine with the idea, because his version of 'puppy eyes' wouldn't have gained him anything.  
  
Mr. Potter looked up then. "Stay as long as you need to."  
  
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That night, Sirius didn't sleep well. And he knew exactly what the problem was. No music. He'd grown a little too accustomed to listening to Remus's Swing music every night before bed.  
  
"Hey Prongs?" He said softly into the darkness.  
  
James muttered. Evidently not awake. Sirius rolled over and stared at the wall, setting himself up for a sleepless night.  
  
"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing..." he sang softly to himself, in hopes that the familiar tune would lull him to sleep.  
  
It didn't, but it was worth a shot.  
  
Counting sheep, that was supposed to work. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7 8, 9, 10.....Wait a minute. All the sheep were wearing fedoras and dancing across the field before jumping the fence. This wasn't working either.  
  
Okay, he was just going to need SOME sort of music. Operation acquire music would begin tomorrow. Until then, he'd just watch the clock.  
  
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"Sirius, Sirius! Wake up you lazy arse!" James was shaking him rather violently. So he HAD fallen asleep! Shock of all shocks! It had to have been past 4 AM though.  
  
"Padfoot- get your lazy arse out of bed this minute or all the food will be gone."  
  
Sirius was up and out of bed like shot, explaining his sleeping dilemma to James on the way down to breakfast.  
  
When they got there, James started on the problem a little bit earlier than Sirius had expected.  
  
"Dad? Did you and mum ever listen to any muggle music?" James asked as they walked in. Sirius about died of embarrassment at the sudden question- though the Potters certainly didn't know why their son was asking.  
  
"Yes, actually. But it's a bit out of style now." Mrs. Potter chimed in as she walked in the room with a plate of biscuits.  
  
"Well, that's even better then. Do you still have it?"  
  
Mr. Potter smiled. "It's in the attic. If you want to clean up a bit in there, you're welcome to it. There should be a record player as well."  
  
James groaned. Trust his dad to have a job for them to do. But it could be worth it.  
  
"Alright then!" Sirius said as he quickly gulped down his breakfast. "Point me in the right direction."  
  
The Potters, including James, laughed and kept eating.  
  
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It was a good hour before James and Sirius got started on the attic. When they got up there, Sirius could easily see why Mr. Potter was so willing to part with the music in return for cleaning the place. It was an absolute mess. Things were piled up to the point that it looked like the stacks were about to fall over, in fact- some of them had already done so. There was old furniture covered in sheets that had probably been white at the beginning of their lives, and there was a thick layer of dust covering everything.  
  
Sirius took a deep breath and dived into the dusty work. "Here we go!" He said as he grabbed the first sheet and shook it, sending James into a coughing fit. The first sheet uncovered an old sofa with lions carved into the armrests with boxes of pictures stacked on the seats. James shrugged and moved on to the next sheet. Sirius was transfixed by the sofa, which was not unlike one in his own home with the exception that the Black's sofa has serpents.  
  
"Your family has a long history of Gryffindors then." He remarked before joining James.  
  
They went through about half the room before they hit the jackpot. The uncovered an antique record player that had lions engraved on the sides. James picked it up and examined it.  
  
"Evidently there's a minor obsession with the Gryffindor thing in my bloodlines." He shook his head and sat the player aside in order to look at the box beneath it. There were a good many records, but not many were familiar. Sirius moved closer and began to flip through them.  
  
"Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald- that one's familiar..." Sirius mumbled as he sifted through them. "Well- your dad didn't seem to be much into Swing. He's got one Benny Goodman, two Louis Armstrong, and then all these. About 5 of this Frank Sinatra guy and another 7 of Nat King Cole's."  
  
James shrugged. "We can give those a shot. But until then we at least have two that you know!" He picked up the player again and gestured for Sirius to grab the box. "We might be able to get into muggle London sometime- then you can get whatever you want."  
  
"Yeah, like an album that actually has 'It Don't Mean a Thing' on it..." Sirius mumbled.  
  
"Favorite song?" James asked over his shoulder as he started for the stairs. Sirius nodded. "How come?"  
  
Sirius had never really thought about that. It was just one of the songs that stuck out most clearly in his mind. Remus taught him to Jitterbug to that song. He'd caught on pretty quickly, and it was a lot of fun. He'd gotten the hang of it pretty quickly. James on the other hand...Well, it was a miracle that Lily didn't murder him when she got out of the hospital wing from having her toe mended. Hardly anyone thought twice about him dancing with Remus, everyone knew how close the Marauders were...But Sirius did. He thought more than twice about it, more than twice a day sometimes even. But he wasn't even admitting that to himself- nonetheless James. Therefore, he simply shrugged.  
  
"Just is."  
  
James took it at that and kept walking.  
  
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It took the two of them most of the week to get the attic cleaned. Sirius had sent Remus an owl telling him what happened and about his initial inability to sleep. Remus had sent him a rather amused reply with the promise that he would come see them soon. Sirius's stomach did a flip-flop when he got the letter and James was almost forced to physically restrain him to keep him from bouncing. After about a week of the overly hyper Sirius, James had had enough of not knowing what was causing it. He drug Sirius upstairs that night after dinner and farced him to sit still on his bed.  
  
"Padfoot- what in the bloody hell has you so damn BOUNCY?"  
  
Sirius was rather taken aback. He hadn't realized how hyper he'd been. But he didn't have to think twice to know why.  
  
"Moony's coming some time soon." He stated simply.  
  
James gave him a look. "So? You don't usually get this excited over a guest. I've known you five years now. There's got to be more to it than that."  
  
Sirius shook his head. "It's Moony, we haven't seen him since school let out!"  
  
"Less than two weeks ago." James stated.  
  
"Two weeks too long then." Sirius was just talking now, he wasn't really thinking about what he was saying. He got up and put on the Benny Goodman record and started humming along with the tune. It was the aardvark song. He grinned. "I miss him. You don't have a fit when I sing along with this and say 'aardvark' instead of 'floy floy'."  
  
"No, but I am about to smash that record, I'm so sick of hearing it. Give one of the others a shot." Sirius picked up the single Louis Armstrong and was about to play it instead. "AND NOT THAT ONE EITHER!"  
  
Sirius pouted and gestured at the stack of other records. "But these aren't Swing..."  
  
"But they might be good. Please Padfoot- give them a try, for the sake of my sanity." James said, burying his head in his pillow.  
  
Sirius sighed and grabbed one of the Nat King Cole albums and plopped it on. "Here goes nothing then..."  
  
_L, is for the way you look at me_

_O, is for the only one I see _

_V, is very very, extra-ordinary _

_E, is even more than anyone that you adore can _

_LOVE, it's all that I can give to you _

_LOVE is more than just a game for two _

_TWO in love can make it, take my heart but please don't break it _

_LOVE was made for me and you.  
_  
Sirius smiled at the song as it began to repeat. Not bad at all, in fact, it was really good. Almost better than Swing in his opinion.  
  
"When was this stuff popular?" He asked James who had the record cover.  
  
"Ahh...sometime in the 1950's."  
  
"Just after Swing. I can hear the influences. Very nice. I wonder if Moony's heard this before."  
  
"Probably. Why does everything relate to Remus?"  
  
Sirius was silent for a minute. Then he said slowly, "Because Remus is very important to me." Sirius was just beginning to realize how true that was. But James had just had his suspicions confirmed.  
  
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Remus was due at the Potter household via Flu Powder at 12:15 on July 2nd. He'd be staying for two weeks before returning home prior to the full moon. Sirius was fretting about him spending the full moon alone, but there wasn't much anyone could do without giving away their secret. In the week prior to Remus's arrival, Sirius had slowly become addicted to the Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra music, he was now spending more time listening to 'LOVE', 'Someone Who Needs Me', 'The Summer Wind', and 'Unforgettable' than to 'Sing Sing Sing'. It was the beginning of a new obsession.  
  
Remus arrived exactly four seconds early. Sirius didn't mind at all, it was four fewer seconds he had to spend without him. James laughed softly as Sirius nearly knocked Remus over in his exuberance.  
  
"Good to have you here Moony. Watch out, our Padfoot's got a new music obsession."  
  
Remus turned to Sirius with a quizzical look.  
  
Sirius shifted uneasily. "Well, James got sick of me playing the same two albums over and over, so I started playing some of the others. Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole, have you ever heard them?"  
  
"A bit, not a whole lot. I've always been partial to Swing. They aren't bad."  
  
Sirius grinned. "Good, because you'll probably hear a good deal more of them now. And I'm only 20 years out of style to your 30." He added with an even bigger grin.  
  
Remus playfully slapped Sirius's shoulder. "Well, now the important stuff is settled, where do I sleep for the next two weeks? Hopefully near a record player?"  
  
"Yes actually.." Sirius began, but James cut him off.  
  
"There's another bed set up in my room for you. It's a bit cramped now because it's only meant for one bed, and there're three in there now...But I think we'll manage. The record player holds a place of honor on the dresser. It was my dad's when he was younger. I think Sirius told you how we had to clean the entire attic in order to get it...We'll bring you up there sometime and show you what we endured just because you got this silly puppy hooked on Swing!"  
  
Remus laughed. Sirius was so glad to be able to hear that noise again, it was better than any music ever would be to him.  
  
"That's as much his fault as it is mine!"  
  
By this point they were at the door to James's room. Sirius quickly jumped in front of Remus before he could enter.  
  
"You can only go in if you have an album with 'It Don't Mean a Thing' on it. That one's my favorite and I haven't heard it since the train ride." He said quickly.  
  
Remus pulled out the album in question. "Of course, after all- it's my favorite too!"  
  
Sirius grinned happily along with Remus as they listened to the song. James just sighed and watched them as they sat a little closer together and let their eyes linger just a little longer than anyone who was 'just a friend' would. And he knew that this certainly didn't fall under the category of 'it don't mean a thing', because it certainly had a swing and it was swinging towards love. From both ends.  
  
It was time to play matchmaker.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------  
  
_:giggles insanely:_ That was fun. Expect more soon. Lily's injured toe idea came from something therosewilde said. Thought it would work itself in nicely. And it did!  
  
Tell me what you think- I live for feedback. Still debating on how these two get together. =)


	3. Chapter 3

AN- Okay, here's chapter 3! Will be working on Chapter 4 today on paper, so it might be a bit longer for me to type it up afterwards....Stupid story inspired me to go out and buy 'Nat King Cole- Unforgettable'. Great CD. Disclaimer- Let's see, STILL NOT MINE!

* * *

The first few days of Remus's stay at the Potter house passed in lazy hours of avoiding the heat and listening to alternating records of Swing and Jazz. James was just thankful for the variation. However, sometimes it seemed as though a battle of music was being waged in the middle of his bedroom- which was composed more of 'beds' than of 'room' these days.  
  
Sirius was currently sifting through his stack of records until he found the one he was looking for. James looked up and groaned. Frank Sinatra. Again.  
  
"Moony!" Sirius called as he scrambled over the beds towards the record player. "You've got to hear this one!" Remus looked up from his book- most likely something about Swing...James took a closer look. Nope, in fact it was a muggle novel called 'The Fellowship of the Ring'. James logged that information in the back o9f his mind for future reference.  
  
Sirius was now at the record player. He carefully stopped and removed Remus's Glenn Miller album and started getting his playing. It was only a few moments before he'd found the song he'd wanted. James groaned as he recognized the tune.  
  
"Twenty-six. That is twenty-six times you have played this song since you first heard it!" James sighed and covered his ears with a pillow.  
  
Remus quirked his eyebrow in amusement before turning to Sirius. "That good, eh?"  
  
Sirius just nodded as the words started. It was obvious that he'd listened to it a lot because he was singing along.  
  
_Fly me to the moon and let me play among the stars_

_ Let me see what life if like on Jupiter and Mars _

_In other words, hold my hand _

_In other words, darlin' kiss me. _

_Fill my heart with song and let me sing forever more _

_You are all I long for, all I worship and adore _

_In other words, please be true _

_I__n other words, I love you.  
_  
Remus smiled. James noted that his eyes had remained fixed on the obliviously singing Sirius who was singing with his eyes closed and thus hadn't noticed the attention.  
  
"Not bad. Who sings that? Other than you of course."  
  
Sirius blushed slightly, something he very rarely did. "Frank Sinatra. He has a lot of really good songs."  
  
"And most of them are really sappy." James chimed in, trying to get a reaction out of either of them. It was true, but it didn't work. He sighed and re-fluffed the pillow that had sheltered his ears.  
  
Sirius turned and glared at him, but Remus laughed so he was forced to turn and look that way. Having the middle bed had its disadvantages. "What's so funny?"  
  
Remus smiled. "It's just that I never pictured you as a sap before."  
  
Sirius shrugged. "Looks can be deceiving." He grinned at Remus who was smiling back and it probably would have continued had James not butted in.  
  
"Okay, I don't think there is a single record in this entire house that I haven't heard at least five times. Whether you like it or not, we're finding a record store first thing tomorrow morning so that I can at least have a little variety here!  
  
Remus turned his smile to James. "Kippy, there was another album by Benny Goodman that I wanted to get."  
  
Sirius just bounced, even more than he had previously.  
  
James sighed and decided that playing matchmaker was going to be a lot harder than he had thought.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
Next morning at about 10:00, James, Sirius, and Remus stepped out of the Leaky Cauldron fireplace after a quick trip via Floo Powder from the Potters'. James's parents had no problem with their venture, provided they were home in time for dinner. It took them a good half an hour just to find a record store. They arrived inside with little trouble only to be faced by a lot of music that wasn't Swing or Jazz, but something else entirely.  
  
_And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon  
  
Little boy blue and the man on the moon  
  
When you comin' home dad?  
  
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son  
  
You know we'll have a good time then.  
_  
Sirius blinked and turned to Remus. "Moony, what's this?"  
  
Remus shrugged. "Evidently the popular music of today." He said quietly, so as not to be overheard by the numerous muggles in the store. "What we want will be this way." Remus led the way to the back of the store where there weren't many people, except for a couple of older people. James walked back with them far enough to realize that there was absolutely no one around the Swing music except Remus and Sirius.  
  
"Well," he said, "I'll leave you two to your odd obsessions with swing and overly sappy music and try and develop my own musical obsession so I have something to join the music battles." James smirked and sauntered off down another aisle, not realizing he was only moving about another ten years from Sirius's music. He stopped at a picture of four guys in mid-stride across a muggle street. He picked it up. "The Beatles. Sounds interesting..."  
  
Meanwhile back in the Swing section, Remus had found his Benny Goodman album and Sirius had found his own copy of Louis Armstrong that featured 'It Don't Mean a Thing' in addition to another Nat King Cole record.  
  
"So how's your summer been?" Sirius suddenly asked as he examined the Nat King Cole record, wondering what the songs sounded like. One of them was called 'Nature Boy'. It reminded him of Remus, just the title.  
  
Remus smirked. "It's been alright, a bit boring. No one to argue with about 'aardvarks'."  
  
"I told James that and he just threatened to break my single Benny Goodman record. I was being too bouncy about you coming to visit."  
  
Remus laughed. "Well, I guess you'd best watch out then. Breaking a Benny Goodman record would be a sin in my book."  
  
"I'll just have to try not to get so hyper about seeing you then. I missed you Moony!" Sirius frowned and gave him the puppy dog eyes. "You should stay."  
  
"Can't," Remus's heart did a flip, Sirius wanted him to stay. He'd missed him. "Full moon, I have to be home." Never had Remus so hated the moon and it's phases. "I really wish I could stay though."  
  
Sirius frowned and sighed. "I'll just have to bombard you with letters that say 'aardvark' every five lines alternating with other such nonsense."  
  
Remus smiled and tugged some of Sirius's hair that was falling over his shoulder. It was really long now; it was almost halfway down his back. "Dindy puppy." Sirius smiled and blushed a light pink. That was how James found them a few minutes later when he walked up holding a few Beatles Albums.  
  
"We ready to go?" He asked, breaking the awkward silence. Remus swiftly let go of the bit of hair that he had been absently running through his fingers and Sirius swiftly spun around.  
  
"Er, yeah. I'm getting pretty hungry. How about an ice cream before we head home?"  
  
Remus quickly agreed, still slightly flushed from his momentary lapse of sanity. James sighed to himself, having overheard the entire conversation. They really were pitiful if they couldn't figure out the other's feelings. Either that or very oblivious.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
_"Say it's only a paper moon _

_Hanging over a cardboard sea _

_But it wouldn't be make believe _

_if you believed in me!"  
_  
Sirius sang along enthusiastically. James had his ears covered again and Remus was secretly watching from over the top of his book. James leapt up as soon as the song ended.  
  
"Alright, MY turn now. That one didn't even make sense...Paper moon indeed." James grabbed one of his records and plopped it onto the player. "Lets try...this one." Music that was obviously a bit more recent came spilling out instantly.  
  
_Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter  
  
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here  
  
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun  
  
And I say it's all right  
_  
"And you say MY music doesn't make sense!" Sirius exclaimed. "What is this?"  
  
"Beatles. Big muggle hit. Still popular, unlike your music." James smiled.  
  
"Blegh, It's alright. But they've got nothing on Frank Sinatra."  
  
"Just because it's not all about love. I honestly don't get the obsession Padfoot."  
  
"It's good music!"  
  
"And you get all dreamy-eyed when you listen to it."  
  
Sirius turned bright red and was at a loss for things to say. Remus came to his rescue.  
  
"Leave him alone James. Just shows he's not as shallow about his affections as you and Lily. Constantly resorting to physical and verbal violence is not a normal way to show someone you fancy them."  
  
"I do NOT fancy Evans!" James grumbled. How had his perfect matchmaking scheme suddenly backfired entirely? This was not how things were supposed to work!  
  
Sirius seemed to have recovered by now. "Sure Jamie-boy. Sure."  
  
"I hate that name and you know it." James was coming dangerously close to attempting to growl, not something most stags were any good at.  
  
"But your mum doesn't!" Sirius crowed happily.  
  
James grumbled and stomped off towards the door. "I'm going down for a drink. You're hopeless. The BOTH of you." So much for matchmaking. He was utter crap at it and he knew it. They'd just have to figure it out themselves. Merlin knows how long that would take. And if there was one thing James hated, it was the fact that they were right. He did fancy Lily, but he wasn't about to admit it.  
  
Maybe she'd do better with the whole matchmaking thing. James decided to owl her while he was downstairs. Hopefully she wouldn't choose to burn the letter rather than help him. Honestly, the two of them were driving him crazy.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
James gave up on any more matchmaking attempts during Remus's stay, seeing as the two of them would just gang up on him about Lily. Lily, who had not ignored his letter, but sent a very short reply back. All it said was 'Find out how Sirius feels and right me back. I may be able to help. But this is for _them_. Not you, Potter.' He'd decided to ignore the last bit and just be happy that she'd acknowledged his existence.  
  
So now he was doing as she said. It was late at night and he and Sirius were just getting ready to go to sleep. There was a lot more space in his room without the third bed.  
  
James pondered to himself what the best way to approach this would be. Then he realized what song was playing. It Don't Mean a Thing. Once again. Sirius had been playing it constantly since Remus had left. So often in fact that James had actually started to just block it out. Now it suddenly occurred to him where he'd first heard it. At the party after they'd won the Quidditch cup, Remus had been dancing with Sirius to it just before the 'Lily fiasco'.  
  
"It's just now occurred to me that this is the song we danced to at that party." Sirius looked up quickly and blushed lightly.  
  
"Yeah, it is. That was a lot of fun." Truth be told, he remembered the feeling every time he heard it.  
  
James watched the expressions flit across his best friend's face before taking the plunge.  
  
"He's the reason you listen to all the sappy love songs, isn't he?"  
  
Sirius's jaw dropped and flapped. James smiled. "Thought so. You love him, eh?"  
  
"I, err, I..." Sirius floundered. Was it really that obvious? Had Remus noticed it? He was turning beat red now. He couldn't come up with any proper words so he just nodded. Damn James and his perceptiveness! Suddenly a thought occurred to him.  
  
"Are you okay with that?" He asked worriedly. "I mean, you don't hate me or anything? Because if you do...I can leave..."  
  
James's eyes widened in shock. "Bloody hell Sirius! Of course not! You're the same person you always were, and all you just did was completely confirm something I've known for weeks."  
  
Sirius let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Thank Merlin!"  
  
"So are you going to tell him?" James asked, already knowing the answer.  
  
"No, of course not." Sirius answered as though James had asked if he were going to jump off a bridge. "He means too much to me to risk losing his friendship."  
  
"You should still give it a shot though, I mean, there's always a chance."  
  
"Leave it be James. Just go to sleep."  
  
James complied, but the subject was far from 'let be' in his mind. He had a letter to write to Lily in the morning.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
Meanwhile Lily was contemplating the very same thoughts, though Sirius's feelings were still unknown to her. She knew Remus loved Sirius very deeply, but was too scared to lose one of the only friends who'd ever fully trusted him, the closest of all his friends. He didn't think he could live if Sirius hated him, therefore he wouldn't risk. She only hoped that Sirius would be just as blunt in his feelings about Remus as he was about everything else in his life. But from what James had said, that wasn't going to be the case.  
  
It seemed to be that Remus was the only subject about which Sirius was entirely serious.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
And in yet another part of England, there was a wolf that was incredibly unhappy about not having its pack that night.  
  
Remus cowered in the corner of the wolf's mind; only dimly aware of the mess his body would be in come morning. For now, he kept himself sane with thoughts of Sirius and how enjoyable their time together had been in the past weeks. He thought of all the little things Sirius had done, and how he'd been missed. It made him smile to think that maybe there was a chance for him, just maybe.  
  
When the moon set, Remus Lupin slept soundly.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
Sirius Black remained awake half the night, thinking over what James had said about giving it a chance. Oh how he wished things could have remained normal between Remus and himself, that he could be content with just friendship. But ever since that dance, Sirius's insides did a somersault every time Remus was near him. It was like a burst of nerves combined with utter joy. The strangest thing he'd ever felt. Yet he wanted more of it. Always more because Sirius Black never did things halfway.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
And Peter Pettigrew had no idea that anything was even wrong. Lucky little bugger.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------  
  
Two voices mumbled softly to themselves on opposite sides of England as the moon set and they wandered off to the land of dreams.  
  
_"It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing..."_

* * *

Review! Give me feedback! It makes me write faster! =)


	4. Chapter 4

AN- It's slow in coming. Blame it on the weather because anytime I wanted to type something, either someone was on the keyboard already or there was a lovely thunderstorm. Disclaimer- DO I have to do this every time? They aren't mine.

* * *

Life continued as the summer passed. James had sent his letter to Lily in mid-July, receiving an answer of 'Good. We'll talk at Hogwarts. Leave him be until then'. So James had done just that. He ignored the constant playing of 'It Don't Mean a Thing' and all the sappiest of Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. He tried to ignore the fact that his best friend was quieter now, more thoughtful when he thought no one was looking. But it was utterly impossible to ignore the way his face lit up every time a letter from Remus arrived. James was happy he'd fallen in love, but at the same time sad and even a bit jealous. He missed the old Sirius sometimes, and he knew that his friendship and letters never brought him as much joy as Remus's did.  
  
Before anyone knew it, September 1st had rolled around and Sirius had gone all bouncy again. This time, James didn't even bother to ask why. Though he did consider tying a brick to Sirius's head in hopes that the added weight would discourage his incessant bouncing. In the end, he decided that Sirius would just bounce the brick right off.  
  
The Potter family lived just outside of muggle London, so they simply caught an ordinary bus to get to King's Cross. The Knight Bus was always too crowded by folks who lived farther away, so it wasn't worth the effort. Mr. Potter charmed the boy's things to appear as 'perfectly normal' to any muggles in order to avoid suspicion. He had dressed in a muggle suit in order to avoid suspicion. James had donned a pair of jeans and a red t- short featuring a lion. Sirius had on jeans as well, but with a tight- fitted blue shirt and a fedora. The Swing influence was definitely evident.  
  
They got to King's Cross without a hitch and slipped nonchalantly through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. The familiar red train was sitting idly in the station, puffing up a cloud of red-tinted steam every few minutes. Even muggle inventions could have some magical embellishments. Fifteen minutes to eleven, James and Sirius arrived in the last compartment of the train to find Remus next to the window with his nose in a book. He looked up as they entered. He too was dressed in muggle fashion, though like Sirius, he looked a bit out of his generation in a pair of black pants, a buttoned-up red shirt and a newsboy hat, slightly tilted over his left eye. James glanced at the book at Remus smiled. Evidently he had finished his other book because this one was called 'The Return of the King'. The peace was swiftly broken as Sirius launched himself onto Remus for a hug. James swore the boy knew nothing about being subtle with his feelings.  
  
The fedora went flying. James picked it up and sat it on his own head, wondering when Sirius would miss its presence. They chatted for a bit, Sirius having seated himself next to Remus and James across from him. He was so fixated on Remus that he was completely oblivious to James smiling like a madman and wearing his hat. At two till eleven, Peter came rushing in to the compartment, quite winded.  
  
"Was afraid I'd miss it!" was all he got out as he collapsed next to James.  
  
Remus stood up then as the train began to move. "I've got to go up front for a bit. Lily made me promise that I'd come talk to her about prefect duties...I don't see why. It was all in the letter. But hey. James, I feel sorry for you sometimes, liking that bird. She's a pushing little thing." He chuckled bemusedly to himself as he left. James raised an eyebrow and wondered what all that was about. He wondered if it had anything to do with his failed matchmaking. He halfway hoped it did. A few too many 'glances' had been snuck over the course of thirteen minutes. Well, eight minutes if you subtracted the time it took to actually pry Sirius loose of Remus.  
  
"Oi! That's my hat!" The hat was abruptly removed from James's head and deposited where it 'belonged'  
  
James laughed. He'd figured Sirius would notice as soon as Remus stopped distracting him. "Who's up for a game of Exploding Snap?"  
  
------------------------------------  
  
"Well, that about covers it." Lily stated, five minutes later and two minutes after Remus had arrived.  
  
"If that was all, what in the bloody hell was the point of making me come down here?" Remus was now quite annoyed.  
  
"Ask you a question without other people hanging around. Prefect business isn't worth eavesdropping on." Lily stated simply. Remus glared and tapped his foot irritably. The full moon was next week and his nerves were already shot over Sirius, he didn't need ambiguous answers to a straightforward question. Lily was still smiling.  
  
"Well, what IS it then?" he growled. "It had better be bloody well important." Lily just rolled her eyes. She's grown accustomed to Remus's mood swings, especially when he was being pulled away from something he really wanted to do. And right now, that something involved the object of his affections and therefore he was twice as irritable.  
  
"How are things between you and Sirius?"  
  
"Fine. Friendly. I told you that this was my business." Impatience was obviously increasing.  
  
"Have you considered telling him?"  
  
"Considered and discarded because I couldn't bear to be away from him forever. Those few weeks after the willow were enough to drive me insane. Nearly did. And right now YOU are keeping me from seeing him and talking to him, so hurry it up."  
  
"You enjoy you're stay at the Potter house?"  
  
"Yes, of course...HOLD IT! How did you know about that?"  
  
Lily smirked. "James. He wrote me a total of two letters this summer. Mentioned you'd been there."  
  
Remus was now staring at Lily, nigh on horror struck. "And...?"  
  
"Well, he noticed a large amount of love in the air, and was asking advice."  
  
"And what did you tell him?"  
  
Lily took a step back. Remus was a little scary when he was this peeved. Werewolves were evidently obsessive. She wondered if any of the books in the library knew that little bit of trivia.  
  
"To leave it be. And that we'd talk when we got to Hogwarts."  
  
Remus sighed in defeat. If she hadn't backed off now, nothing would make her. And he knew from experience that James was just as bad. Still, he had one last warning to give as he turned to leave.  
  
"Mess up my life and you die."  
  
Lily breathed a sigh of relief as he left. That had certainly been intense. Note to self- don't do that again.  
  
------------------------------------  
  
Meanwhile, James was having nearly as difficult of a time with Sirius. Peter had gone to find some girl from Hufflepuff he'd had his eye on, leaving Sirius to James, who was going crazy watching the former pace the tiny compartment.  
  
"Sirius, SIT. He's going to be back in just a few minutes. It's fine. Trust me."  
  
Sirius just glared and continued pacing.  
  
"Look, have you considered TELLING him? Because you're driving yourself, and me, absolutely barmy! Enough is enough."  
  
Glare of death cut short by the opening of the door and entrance of an annoyed Remus.  
  
"Moony! You're back!" Sirius was quite back to normal now and seemed to be debating on whether or not to give Remus another hug. Remus sat down, therefore making the decision for him. Sirius quickly sat down next to him and gave James a meaningful look.  
  
"Prongs," Remus stated, breaking the silence, "I know that you plan to marry that bird one day, but don't be surprised if I kill her first. That was the most pointless meeting of my life."  
  
"So that's why you're annoyed." Sirius stated. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate frog. "Here, it'll help." Remus smiled and took it. He was a strong believer that chocolate was the cure to anything. Sirius had figured this out and began stocking his pockets so that Remus was never upset about anything for long.  
  
Peter reentered with an expression of extreme happiness to find Remus eating a bit of chocolate, Sirius grinning, and James shaking his head in bemusement. He joined James in the head shaking.  
  
"I just got a date!" He stated happily. "For the first Hogsmeade weekend."  
  
"Oo!" Sirius perked up. "Who's the lucky girl?"  
  
"Like I'd tell you." James laughed.  
  
"He's got a point, we'd just torture her."  
  
The compartment fell into silence after a few more minutes and Sirius soon decided that he'd had enough of it. Therefore he pulled out the record player and popped in a Nat King Cole album. 'Orange Colored Sky' was soon blaring out, making Remus laugh as the background singers spelled it out, literally.  
  
_This is it, This is it, I-T, it!_  
  
"Padfoot, that's completely ridiculous."  
  
"And very amusing." James added, actually liking it because he hadn't heard it often. More upbeat stuff was not in Sirius's style when Remus wasn't around.  
  
And Peter became an innocent bystander in yet another war of music.  
  
------------------------------------  
  
The train arrived at Hogsmeade with no casualties expect for Peter, who had run from the room when 'It Don't Mean a Thing' was played for about the fifth time. He ventured back when he heard James's Beatles playing. Evidently he found that safer that the Swing and Jazz. How he'd survive the year was a question that still needed to be answered.  
  
The feast passed as it usually did, the food was excellent and James and Sirius were given their first detention of the year for making a pie explode in the middle of the table. Remus noted the fact that they had beaten last year record by 3 minutes and 41 seconds. James whooped when he told him this, Sirius just smiled. Detention was tomorrow night, Sirius with Filch and James with Pomfrey.  
  
All in all, it was looking like a pretty normal year. Well, that is until Lily grabbed hold of James's arm that night in the Common Room and dragged him off into a corner to talk. Usually James was the one doing the dragging and Lily the one who was rather annoyed. This time, she'd pulled him from a game of chess with Sirius that he was actually going to win. Two more moves and it would have been his. But no, Miss Lily Evans could not give him that satisfaction. She wanted to talk to him. Right now.  
  
He sighed as she sat him down in a chair in the corner and sat across from him.  
  
"So what do you propose we do about those two? They're driving ME crazy."  
  
Lily smirked, "You already are crazy. Now, you know for absolute certain that Sirius likes him?"  
  
"Yes, but what about Remus?"  
  
"Does he ever! I drug that out of him last term. Now he's threatened to kill me if our matchmaking messes up his life."  
  
"So THAT'S what he was so peeved about earlier!" James said, realization dawning on him. "You know a pissy Remus is not fun to deal with."  
  
"I know, and his anger was directed at me this time. Very not fun. Sorry about that."  
  
James shrugged. "It's alright I suppose; Sirius has mastered the art of cheering him up. It may sound stupid, but chocolate really does work wonders in his case.  
  
Lily laughed. "It works wonders for most girls too." James was elated that she was actually TALKING to him. It was a dream come true. Then the moment was shattered as she reminded him of what they were talking about. "So we still have to find a way to make them tell each other how they feel."  
  
"Well," James stated, "I think maybe it would be easier to work with Sirius on that part. He doesn't flip out as badly."  
  
Lily smiled again, James was really enjoying this who 'smiling' thing. "Very good point. So, shall you talk to him, or shall I?"  
  
"Me, he's more liable to listen. I'll talk to him the next time Remus is...indisposed."  
  
"Next week then. I think we can live that long at least." With that, Lily got up and went to her dormitory. Life returned to normal, including the fact that James had lost his chess game.  
  
------------------------------------  
  
James and Sirius had soon retired to the dorm after Sirius had beaten James in their rematch. Remus was already in there, his curtains drawn. Back to the Swing music. Sirius smiled to himself before walking over. He knocked on the bedpost and the curtain was drawn back to reveal Remus sitting there, listening to Benny Goodman. Sirius smiled. Just like old times. He sat down next to Remus and pulled the curtain to preserve the sanity of his other roommates.  
  
The song playing wasn't one that he recognized. It must be one off of a new album. The lyrics seemed less...random.  
  
"What song is this?" He asked, leaning up against the headboard.  
  
"Goodnight, My Love. By Benny Goodman."  
  
"You don't play it often."  
  
"It's a bit sappy."  
  
"I like sappy."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Why are you playing it now?"  
  
"I'm in a sappy mood." Remus smiled. "I can change it if you like."  
  
"No! I like it." Sirius said, blushing. "That reminds me..." He suddenly pulled the fedora off his head and a quill from Remus's bag. "I'll replace it later.." He muttered a quick spell and it turned into a red feather. He stuck it into the brim of the fedora and handed the combination to Remus, who blushed nearly as red as the feather.  
  
"Happy Un-Birthday because I missed yours over the summer and wasn't allowed to do the magic to make a red feather. I, uh...hope you like it?" Sirius was looking down at his hands, which had gone clammy from nerves.  
  
"It's wonderful, perfect even." Remus said, looking at the gift in his hands. "Thank you so much." He set the hat aside and pulled Sirius into a quick hug before pulling away, both of the now blushing fiercely.  
  
"I had, uh, best be getting to sleep." Sirius said quickly after a few moments of awkward silence. "Goodnight, Moony. Sweet dreams."  
  
Remus smiled up at him. "You too Padfoot." He sighed as the curtain closed and leaned back on the pillows. '_I can only wish they were of me._'  
  
------------------------------------  
  
Sirius climbed into bed, far happier than he had been in a while. So happy in fact that he couldn't help the tune that escaped in a hum.  
  
"_It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing..._"  
  
He sighed and wished in the back of his mind that this really DID mean something.

* * *

Read and Review! I live for feedback, as always! Major apologies for the delay, it was going to be up LAST night, but we had lovely weather and then dad was paranoid about the computers. Blegh. 


	5. Chapter 5

AN- Well, here we go again! I would like to express my extreme pleasure in the fact that I have had TWO reviews from people who do not typically read Remus/Sirius and both have been positive. This has made me a very happy writer, so if this is a happy story- blame TheSiriusSparrow and The Mysterious M. :big smile: Disclaimer- still not mine!

* * *

James looked down at the record player, doubt very evident in his eyes. Lily's plan had sounded pretty good, but now that he was standing in front of the little machine, charms book in hand; he wondered how he was going to make this work.  
  
The idea was to get Sirius talking about his affections for Remus, meanwhile, James would have charmed the record player to record him instead of playing something back. James had pulled a disco album he'd bought over the summer (and hated) from the bottom of his trunk to record over, but the charm was giving him hell. He'd 'cleaned' the record and was now trying to get it to spin backwards on the wheel. He'd made the entire thing spin, but the record itself had been spinning the opposite direction. Damn his father for putting all those 'unbreakable' charms on the thing! It was really quite frustrating. Lily sure wasn't going to be happy about this...  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
James was right. Lily had certainly been less than thrilled about the failure. There just wasn't a spell for making a record player record. Lily had now handed him a Quick Quotes Quill and told him to do the same thing, it would write down everything that was said. He was going to take her word for it.  
  
That night, he cornered Sirius in the dorms while everyone else was downstairs.  
  
"Sirius, need to talk to you." James wasn't sure why, but he was nervous about this. Probably because he was giving away his best friend's secret. Mind you it was for his own good, but still. A secret was a secret after all...  
  
"Sure James." Sirius said, putting his quill down. "I was just finishing this essay anyhow."  
  
James swallowed hard and nodded his head towards the stairs. "Private." Damn, he couldn't form full sentences! How does one ask a question in phrases?  
  
James tried to formulate a plan of action as they ascended the steps. The quill was set up on his bed, the curtains drawn. He finally decided to just be himself and ask how things were going.  
  
"Have you talked to Remus?" James hoped the quill was working, he really didn't want to do this again.  
  
Sirius glared at him. "No, I told you. I'd rather be his friend than nothing at all."  
  
James sighed. Exactly why he was doing this. "But, what if there's a chance? You know, of more?"  
  
Sirius sighed and sat down on his bed. "Because I'd rather live my life wishing than take the risk of eternal heartbreak."  
  
"You could get over him in time with closure should it come to that." James suggested. REALLY not wanting to give away Remus's secret, after all, he hadn't even been officially told of it.  
  
Sirius looked him dead in the eye. "Remus isn't the sort of person you 'get over' James. This is real, this is forever. This is different. Trust me. Remus is the kind of person you fall in love with."  
  
James hadn't been expecting that. Sure, he had known he LIKED him..."So you...love him?"  
  
Sirius just nodded. "With all my being."  
  
"Wow, well, um. Tell him. It will turn out okay, I swear." With that James bolted. That had been a bit too much emotion for him. His best friend. Completely in love. Not going to get over it. Head over heels. Oh my.  
  
Time to find Lily.  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
As it turned out, Lily was at the base of the steps. James grabbed her as he went by. She came stumbling along behind him. He quickly made his way to the One-Eyed Witch, tapped her back, muttered something Lily couldn't hear, and drug her through the subsequently opened door.  
  
"Can't do it Lil. Can't." He gasped out, trying to catch his breath.  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"Tell Remus that. It's too personal. He has to tell him on his own. I can encourage, but no way in hell can I convey his feelings to Remus."  
  
"Alright, slow down. First, where ARE we?"  
  
James snapped out of it. "Simple. Passage to Hogsmeade. Leads to the cellar of Honeydukes."  
  
Lily laughed. "So that's how you always get Butter beer for parties!"  
  
"Among other ways..." James grinned. "But those are going to stay secret. Didn't think about you not knowing them."  
  
Lily smiled and shook her head. "Well, business then. What happened?"  
  
James's face fell. "He loves him. Really, truly loves him. Forever-type love."  
  
Lily's jaw dropped. Evidently she didn't think the overly hyper Sirius Black could have that sort of feelings. "Oh." She stopped and thought for a moment. "Well, plan B then. I'll be dealing with Remus when he gets back."  
  
James winced. "Good luck then. I'll put some bandages down here just in case. You aren't going to make him overly happy, very bad timing for it too."  
  
"Fine." Lily said, crossing her arms. "I'll wait a week."  
  
"There's a smart witch. Come on, let's get out of here before Sirius comes to track me down."  
  
"But, this place isn't exactly obvious..." Lily was confused. How could Sirius find them THAT fast?  
  
"Oh come on Lily, he's a marauder. You don't want him to be LOOKING for you. Trust me, you'd be found all too quickly. Let's go."  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
In fact, Sirius had already located James on the map and was wondering why in the hell he'd gone running so fast to Lily.  
  
"James." He stated as James re-entered the dorm. James looked up guiltily.  
  
"Saw me with Lily, right?"  
  
Sirius smirked at that response. It really was like they were brothers or something. He nodded and waited for James to continue.  
  
"I had a minor emergency. Needed to ask her something." James said smoothly, he'd gone over this in his head. He was better prepared for this conversation.  
  
"Which would be what?"  
  
Bloody hell, he hadn't thought of that part! "Ah, homework." He said, floundering, when something hit him. "It had occurred to me that we have a History test tomorrow and I didn't remember a thing about any of the Goblin Wars."  
  
"Sure James, Whatever you say." Sirius said, obviously not believing hi,=m, but not pressing the issue.  
  
James turned bit pink.  
  
"C'mon, it's time for Prongs to run with us." Sirius said, heading for the door. James now noticed the invisibility cloak in his hand. That could be another reason he was being looked for.  
  
"Right, lets go. We'd best be there before moonrise then."  
  
Sirius just smiled.  
  
-----------------------------------------------  
  
One week later, Lily made her move.  
  
"Remus, I need to talk to you."  
  
Remus looked up from his book. He'd evidently finished Tolkien's works because he was reading something about Benny Goodman. The boy didn't give up on his obsessions at all. "Sure, let me guess- somewhere not so public?"  
  
Lily nodded. "How about the tree out on the grounds?"  
  
Remus thought about this for a moment before pulling a piece of parchment out of his robes, tapping it and muttering something Lily couldn't hear, glanced at the parchment, tapped it again with another mutter and put it away.  
  
"Sure." He picked up his hat from where he'd set it down (It had been blocking the sunlight from the window) and set it on his head. He grinned and walked out of the Common Room, Lily behind him.  
  
They arrived and no one was there. Lily looked relieved, but Remus didn't seem overly surprised. He sat down with his back to the tree and started playing with the hat, an odd sort of smile on his face.  
  
"Nice feather there." Lily remarked as she sat down beside him. Remus just smiled. "I, err, wanted to talk to you about Sirius."  
  
"Yes? I figured as much."  
  
Lily cursed inwardly. The boy was too damn perceptive for his own good sometimes. It was like he was reading your mind!  
  
"And you want me to tell him how I feel. I already explained this too you Lil, he's my best friend. I need him. Should he push me away, I wouldn't survive the pain."  
  
"But, what if he didn't?"  
  
Remus snorted. "Fat chance of that. Sorry Lily, but most people don't tend to be homosexual- or even bisexual."  
  
"Have you ever asked him?"  
  
"Well, it's not something most people ask! Sure, just go up to your mates and say, 'Oi, just out of curiosity, are any of you poufs?' Yeah, I'm sure that would go over great."  
  
Lily winced. It was amazing how sarcastic he could be. He always seemed so even-keeled and polite...but get to know him and you'd realize he was so bloody sarcastic it could be considered as ridiculous at times. "Yes, well...that doesn't rule it out entirely!"  
  
Remus snorted again. Lily wondered if James had this much trouble with Sirius.  
  
"What, exactly, are your feeling for him?" She asked, hoping for a straight answer, well, sorta.  
  
"What are your feelings for our dear James Potter? Sirius told me you were talking to him eve of the last full moon. Made them late."  
  
Lily winced. Certainly NOT a straight answer! Then, a thought dawned on her. "Oi! How did you know about that? How did Sirius know?"  
  
"Marauder trade secret." Remus said, tapping his head. "Ask James sometime, he might tell you. You going to answer my question?"  
  
"Not until you answer mine."  
  
"Fine. I love him. Happy?"  
  
"Real love? Like, the forever love you read about in stories?"  
  
Remus grinned. "Just like Frodo will always love Sam. Your turn."  
  
"Falling- fast. He's different this year, more caring. But he's still not off the hook for being an absolute prat for the past five years." Lily chose to ignore the synonym. She didn't quite get it anyways. "Back to you and Sirius..."  
  
"Why not just let it be?"  
  
"Because I'm trying to be a matchmaker here and you won't let me!"  
  
"Well what is it you're wanting me to DO?"  
  
"Tell him!" Lily said simply, clapping her hands together.  
  
"Damn straight I'm not going to 'let you'. No way."  
  
"But, but...It would be worth it. I swear."  
  
Remus gave her an odd look. "You know something. Tell me."  
  
Lily turned red and squirmed. Remus grinned.  
  
"A hint then!"  
  
Lily was now very embarrassed. This wasn't supposed to happen! "Not allowed." She muttered.  
  
"Aw, c'mon Lil! Just one little hint can't hurt..."  
  
Lily wrung her hands and stood up to leave. Before she did she turned back and said something so quietly that Remus wouldn't have heard it if not for his improved senses.  
  
"When I said James 'noticed things' over the summer, he wasn't noticing YOU."  
  
And she fled. Somehow, conversations with Remus never turned out how she intended them to.  
  
Remus still sat by the tree, idly playing with the feather in his fedora. Very hep.  
  
It couldn't mean anything, what she just said. Just couldn't. She couldn't have meant that James was noticing SIRIUS acting oddly? But come to think of it, he was.  
  
But _it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing...  
_  
'Aw, bloody hell.' Remus thought as the lyrics floated through his mind. 'It DOES have '_that swing_'. And that's his favorite song. '_Ain't got that swing'_ my foot.'  
  
Remus dropped his head into his hands and realized that the temptation to tell Sirius just how he honestly felt had increased.  
  
And that was exactly how Sirius found him an hour later.

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Review! Please! I crave them! :begs:


	6. Chapter 6

AN- So, here's chapter 6! I hope everyone's enjoying this as much as I am. =) I've somehow managed to addict my NON-swing addict sister to this, which is why I have access to a computer to write on! So without further ado, here we go! Oh- Alex. I actually laughed when I wrote 'a record player record' because it looked funny but I couldn't think of another way to say it! Disclaimer- Not mine.

* * *

"Moony?" Sirius asked as he approached the tree.  
  
Remus looked and gave him a soft smile, nodding his head towards the empty grass beside him.  
  
"You like the hat." Sirius stated, noticing the hat in Remus's hands. He smiled. "I'm glad."  
  
"The perfect gift." Remus smiled at him.  
  
"So...why are you out here? You missed dinner you know..." Sirius began, somewhat nervous. "Would have found you sooner...But you had the map."  
  
"Just thinking." Remus replied, looking back at the hat. Looking at Sirius just made him gain a stupid hope that Lily was right.  
  
"Ah, Mr. Moony's favorite past time." Sirius said jokingly. "But he doesn't seem to be enjoying it today. What's wrong?" Sirius gently lifted Remus's chin with his hand. "You know you can tell me anything."  
  
Remus winced. "Not this, not right now...But I will. I promise."  
  
Sirius frowned, but he accepted Remus's answer. "Thinking can be dangerous for you. When I think, it tends to somehow drift back to my family. And that's never a happy thought. Especially after this summer. All hell broke lose this summer. That's why I left." He didn't really seem to be paying all that much attention to what he was saying, but he just kept talking and Remus kept listening.  
  
"I really do love my family, I just really dislike them too. It sounds stupid, but I wish they wanted to be a part of my life. Ever since I came here, I ceased to be the 'perfect' child. It's like, I've lost all standing in their eyes because I'm not in Slytherin. I've 'tarnished' the family name. She's probably cursed me off the family tree by now."  
  
Remus's eyes were widening in shock. He hadn't realized Sirius's life had been like this. It made being a werewolf almost sound like a walk in a park. Almost, but not even close.  
  
"I didn't want to be 'perfect' when I was little, but I don't want to be lower than dirt like I am now. I want a happy medium. I want my mother to be a part of my life, but I don't want her to control it. She didn't understand that. She wanted to control every aspect of me. What I did, who I was friends with...what music I listened to." Sirius smirked.  
  
"She about died when I told her I'd been listening to old muggle music. I beginning to think it would have been better to have never mentioned it. That way she never would have said those horrible things about you and I wouldn't have run away. But I'm glad to be free of it all..." Sirius's voice slowly died out.  
  
"See? I told you thinking was dangerous. Now come on, let's get some food." Sirius stood up abruptly and offered a hand to Remus, who gladly accepted.  
  
Remus suddenly felt the cold as he stood up. He'd been too lost in his thoughts to notice it before. He shivered slightly. "Winter's coming."  
  
Sirius smiled and put his arm around the shorter boy's shoulders. Remus looked up at him and blushed. Sirius just smiled. Maybe James was right...  
  
------------------------------------  
  
Lily watched from the window as the two walked in. She smiled to herself. Obviously they hadn't confessed, because then there'd be at least a bit of kissing going on, but it was a step in the right direction. Now it was time for Operation Get Them Together!  
  
She just had to figure out what it was.  
  
------------------------------------  
  
It was a week before Halloween when James and Lily finally came up with the perfect plan. Sirius had admitted to James that he'd realized he'd fallen for Remus when they danced. Now they just had to dance again. And so the idea of a Post-Halloween-Feast Party was born. It was to be held in the Gryffindor Commons Room and was open to every Gryffindor. (The teachers would have caught on if folks from other houses joined in). James and Sirius had gathered up tons of Butter Beer during the last Hogsmeade weekend and Remus had taken on the task of collecting Halloween candies. He was currently working on charming them to do unexpected things to the victim...errr...person that ate the lovely delicacy. Peter had gone to do what he was best at- talking the house elves into supplying food.  
  
All in all, the plans were flowing smoothly. James had commandeered Sirius's record player and every record in their dorm. He promised a diverse playlist would be followed. That way, everyone's tastes would be satisfied, thought the War of Music would likely make itself public.  
  
In the week leading up to Halloween, all of Gryffindor house was in a tizzy, mostly from being excited about the party, but also from the risk of keeping it from the teachers. The Marauders were basking in the glory of yet another scheme, quite happy to have one more minor rebellion to authority. Large rebellions were the number one offence in the 'Marauder Handbook', which consisted of only one other rule- 'Never rat out another Marauder.' Therefore, it was a success in their eyes.  
  
Lily on the other hand, was extremely nervous. This was the first time she'd participated in the planning stages of anything like this. The stress was getting to her. Remus was a far more relaxed prefect than she ever could be, but then, that was also from his slight mischievous side.  
  
The night of the party, the Commons Room was decorated for the occasion. Cob webs were hung everywhere with candy spiders that would scurry across from time to time. Supposedly, they were made of Honeyduke's finest chocolate, but they were rather difficult to catch in order to find out. The couches had been pushed to the side so that the floor was open and there was a long table along one wall filled with refreshments.  
  
None of the Gryffindors stayed long at the feast.  
  
They left slowly, in pairs or small groups, so as not to draw too much attention. Of course, the Gryffindor table was still the first on emptied, followed by the Slytherin table because they were all a bunch of party poopers anyways.  
  
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_A buzzard took a monkey for a ride in the air _

_The monkey thought that everything was on the square _

_The buzzard tried to throw the monkey off its back _

_The monkey grabbed his neck and said 'Now listen, Jack!' _

_Straighten up and fly right, straighten up and fly right, straighten up and fly right _

_Cool down papa, don't you blow your top._  
  
So far, the party was going well. Many people were snacking, some were dancing. Sirius was standing on the edge of the dance floor trying to get up the nerve to ask Remus to dance with him. Remus was currently dancing with Lily, doing a modified jitterbug to suit the jazzier rhythms of Nat King Cole. The song ended and another began.  
  
_We all live in a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine...  
  
_Remus laughed and left the floor. Sirius could just hear him say something about being unable to dance to THAT. Lily grabbed James and started dancing with him instead. Sirius gulped as Remus walked towards him.  
  
"Hey Padfoot, having fun?" Remus asked as he walked over.  
  
Sirius ginned. "Yeah, except for this crap that James calls music! Look at him and Lily over there, having a grand old time. Ten galleons they get together by the end of year."  
  
Remus grinned, remembering his conversation with Lily not so long ago. "You're on."  
  
"You know something I don't. I see that look in your eye." Sirius stated. Remus just grinned. "Say, while this crap is playing, would you like a drink?"  
  
"Sure, what did you have in mind?"  
  
"Why, Butter Beer of course!" Sirius exclaimed, faking indignation. "C'mon Moony."  
  
------------------------------------  
  
James and Lily were actually quite amused to see the two of them walk over to the refreshments together, talking and laughing. However, this was not the plan. The plan was that they dance. And that dance was obviously not going to happen while all that was playing was Beatles music. (As much as James hated to admit that.)  
  
Therefore, they decided to take drastic measures. There was one song that they would be forced to dance to. If all went well, they would continue dancing together. Hopefully.  
  
------------------------------------  
  
It didn't take Remus and Sirius long to finish their Butter Beers and by then, 'Yellow Submarine' was ending. A familiar tune soon filled the room.  
  
_It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing _

_Do-wa do-wa do-wa do-wa do-wa do-wa do-wa do-wa do-waaaa... _

_It don't mean a thing, all you got to do is sing _

_Do-wa do-wa do-wa do-wa do-wa do-wa do-wa do-wa do-waaaa...  
_  
Sirius turned to Remus, grinning. He couldn't say now, he just couldn't. "Dance with me?"  
  
Remus nodded, Sirius's heart soared. They were soon the center of attention as they danced circles around everyone else. Somehow being Swing fans, they had the upper hand against those people who were just making things up. Not to mention the fact that they were both men.  
  
At any rate, Lily and James were holding a private celebration by the refreshments table. Peter was off chatting up a pretty brunette, trying to convince her to dance. But the merrymaking was short-lived as the portrait swung open.  
  
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" McGonagal's voice rang out and all noise ceased except for the music.  
  
_Do-wa do-wa do-wa do-wa do-wa do-wa do-wa do-wa do-waaaa..._  
  
"Turn that off." She left no option. "Now everybody off to bed. This place will be cleaned in the morning or I'll begin giving out detentions."  
  
James looked at Lily in dismay.  
  
"Foiled again."  
  
But not entirely, because there was an unbroken gaze still between everyone's favorite canines.  
  
James turned the music off and McGonagal left in a huff. James, Peter, Remus and Sirius collected the music and record player and trudged up the stairs. James held Sirius back for a moment though.  
  
"I can distract Peter down here if you want to finish your dance with Remus."  
  
Sirius shook his head. "I wouldn't have the guts to ask him again."  
  
James grinned maniacally and bolted up the stairs.  
  
"REMUS! A word, please." He stated as he entered the dorm. Remus set down the rest of his records before turning to James. "Yes?"  
  
"How about you and Sirius finish your dance up here? Pete and I can clear out and clean up a bit."  
  
Remus glared at him. "You meddle too much James. But okay."  
  
James just smiled and looked at Peter before dragging him from the room, just as Sirius entered.  
  
Sirius groaned. "Please tell me he didn't do what I think he just did..."  
  
"What, clear out so we can 'finish our dance'? Yeah, he did." Remus grinned. "Why, Padfoot, I don't believe I've ever seen you this...unnerved by something as simple as a dance." Remus was actually quite pleased. Lily and James were meddlesome and definitely deserved each other, but right now, all that mattered was Sirius. Who was currently fidgeting.  
  
"Because, I uh, aw bloody hell. Shall we dance?" Sirius stumbled a bit before just asking the obvious question.  
  
"That was the point." Remus actually quite amazed with how calm he was. Calm before the storm. That must be it. He would go nuts any minute now. "What shall we dance to then?"  
  
"Something slower I should think. I got a bit worn out earlier, and it's late and all..."  
  
"Alright then." Remus cut him off, he was making up excuses. "How about some of your Nat King Cole?" Remus knew that not much of his Swing music would fall under the category of 'slow'.  
  
"Alright, I know just the song." Conversation was rather strained...until the music started. He held out his arms and Remus stepped into them. It wasn't much of dancing really, just swaying and moving slightly.  
  
_There was a boy_

_A very strange, enchanted boy _

_They say he wandered very far, very far _

_Over land and sea _

_A little shy, _

_and sad of eye _

_But very wise was he _

_And then one day _

_A magic day he passed my way _

_And while we spoke of many things _

_Fools and kings _

_This he said to me..._  
  
"_The greatest thing, you'll ever learn, is just to love, and be loved in return_". Sirius sang along with the last part. "You know, I've got that first part down. But I don't know about the second part..."  
  
Remus smiled. His stomach was filled with butterflies. This was it. His last secret. This could very well be perfection.  
  
"Well, depending on whom you love, that could be arranged..."  
  
"It's you, Remus. It was always you." Sirius said softly as the line repeated before the song ended.  
  
"Then I can definitely help with that." Remus smiled softly and pulled Sirius's face to his for a kiss. He grinned like an idiot as he pulled away. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too." Sirius quickly pulled him close for another kiss, and another, and another...The song had long since ended and another had begun. Others started and ended without them noticing, too wrapped up in each other to care.  
  
_And yet we're not too young to know  
  
This love will last though years may go  
  
And then some day they may recall  
  
We were not too young at all...  
_  
Songs about love, song about monkeys, none were noticed until Remus pulled away again.  
  
"This is the most wonderful moment of my life except for one thing."  
  
"Name it and it's yours." Sirius was breathing hard, but his eyes were sparkling, causing Remus to fall even more in love with him.  
  
Remus smiled and sang softly under his breath. "_It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing..."_  
  
Sirius laughed, the record was changed, and the kissing continued.  
  
James and Peter slept on the couches.

* * *

THE END.  
  
AN- Beg enough and you may get a sequel of like- the Potter Wedding or something. =)


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